February 10, 2007

Aasim Cunningham

John Grazioli

CANTON, N.Y.—The Hobart basketball team trailed by as many as 16 points in the second half, but rallied for a 70-68 Liberty League victory over St. Lawrence. Senior Aasim Cunningham nailed a three-pointer to break a 62-all tie with 39 seconds to go, putting the Statesmen in front for good.

Hobart (8-14, 4-7) shot just 30 percent in the first half, but hit 44 percent of its shots after the break, including 5 of 10 from long range. Conversely, St. Lawrence (18-5, 8-4) shot 43 percent before halftime and just 36 percent after.

Junior John Grazioli led the Statesmen with 19 points on 7 of 14 shooting, including a pair of threes. Cunningham sank three three-pointers and finished with 17 points. Senior Kevin Riley also added 17 points to go with a game-high nine rebounds. Senior Mike Manning chipped in 10 points and shared top honors with nine boards.

Tom Wopperer was the game's high scorer with 21 points for the Saints.

St. Lawrence carried a 34-24 lead into the locker room at halftime, expanded that advantage to 16 two minutes into the second half, and still led by nine with 10:35 remaining, before Hobart clawed its way back into the contest.

The Statesmen needed less than two minutes to use a 13-2 run to seize their first lead of the game, 53-51, with 8:35 to go. Cunningham kick-started the surge with a three and capped it with a layup. Grazioli and Riley also connected from behind the arc during the pivotal swing.

Tied at 62, Cunningham hit his biggest triple of the day and Hobart went 5 for 6 down the stretch from the free throw line to secure the victory. The Statesmen led by four when SLU hit a layup as time expired to create the final two-point margin.

With three games remaining in Liberty League play, Hobart needs to win out and have either Union or Vassar lose out to earn one of the four spots in the Liberty League Tournament. The Statesmen are back in action on Feb. 13, when they travel to conference front-runner Hamilton. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.